


heart of gold

by Phoebmonster



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: (no worse than canon), AU, Discussions of Drowning, F/F, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Smut, Minor Injuries, Sara has a dog, inspired by Aquaman, it's the softest okay, the au no one wanted, the is the closest i'll ever get to slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-24 04:09:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18161285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebmonster/pseuds/Phoebmonster
Summary: Sara is a lonely lighthouse keeper at the end of the world, when Ava washes up onto shore, unable to speak and far from home.(aka an au inspired by the first ten minutes of aquaman that got Very out of hand)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> doesn't have any spoilers for aquaman - you also don’t need to have watched aquaman to understand this :)
> 
> timeline's a bit screwy - laurel's dead, but sara hasn't met the legends yet (you’ll get the hang of it)
> 
> tw for mild injury / blood mention / vomit mention / drowning mention / food mention

Sara sat in the library, studying a map of France, 1789 - they needed to formulate a plan to save the revolution before it was halted by an angry, displaced werewolf - when Nate suddenly appeared, waving a book.

"Hey, Captain - I found this on the shelf, but it's not mine -"

She stood up quickly when she saw what it was. Pale blue, with golden binding - "It's mine." She said, reaching out to grab it, but Nate pulled away.

"'The People of Atlantis?' You believe in this stuff?" He said with a snort.

"It's - it's complicated." Sara said quietly. "Give it back."

"Well now I'm interested." Nate said in a sing song voice, opening the book, but stopped when a piece of paper fluttered out. Before he could pick it up, Sara lunged forward and grabbed it.

"What's that?" He asked, but Sara wasn't listening. She was too busy focusing on smoothing out its slightly crumpled edges, holding it carefully.

"It's nothing." She whispered.

"Is there a story in this?" Nate pushed, gently, and Sara could only nod, not taking her eyes from the paper. "Will you tell me?" 

"No." Sara said, quietly. The Legends knew she didn't talk about her past. She looked up to see Nate was giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

"Promise I won't tell the rest of the team."

"It doesn't have a happy ending." Sara said cautiously, but Nate just grinned, settling himself onto the library floor.

"Don't care."

"Fine." Sara sighed. Nate would only keep pushing and pushing anyway until she told him. "It started - I guess it started one dark and stormy night, at a lighthouse in Amnesty Bay, Maine -"

///

The rain came down in sheets, battering everything, running down her neck, slicking her hair to her face, worming its way through her heavy coat to soak her to the bone. Sara could barely hear her own muttered swearing over the sound of the howling wind as it whipped through the bay and slammed the shutters against the walls of the house. Her fingers were numb as she struggled to tie them down, not helped by the fact that she jumped a little whenever thunder crashed or lightning streaked across the sky. She kept cursing, cursing how she hadn't paid attention to the storm warning, cursing why she even chose to live in a goddamn lighthouse in the middle of nowhere -

She was looking out at the sea when a flash illuminated the rocks, and she could've sworn she saw a shape laying there - a body.

The huge sweeping lighthouse beam swung round, and Sara could see clearly - a woman, dashed on the rocks as the sea crashed over her. She was scrambling down the rock face before she could think, skidding down the slick stone until she reached her. 

The woman was unconscious and dressed in a strange wet suit - white and covered in a pattern of scales. Her blonde hair was strung out across the rocks, covered with sand and seaweed and what may have been blood. There was a deep wound on her head and what looked like a slash across her stomach, the blood mixing with the rain and running down into the foaming water below. Sara shook her, wiping some of the water from her face, but she didn't respond, so she pulled her up, half carrying, half dragging the mysterious woman up the cliff and into her house.

She deposited her on the sofa.

"Don't be dead." Sara muttered, trying to find a pulse. The woman seized slightly, blue eyes flying open and she turned, throwing up an obscene amount of water. Sara stepped back, but not before the woman threw up again all over her legs, bringing up some sand too. She hiccupped, water dribbling down her chin.

"So. Not dead." Sara knelt down next to the woman, moving hair away from her head wound, but was stopped when the woman's arm shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"Woah, woah, I was just trying to help." She stepped back, and the woman sat up, swinging her legs off the couch and trying to stand.

"Hey, stop, you nearly drowned -" Before she could finish her sentence, the woman went white and crumpled, Sara only just managing to catch her before she landed on the floor.

///

Sara sighed, as she sat on the armchair opposite the strange woman, scratching the ears of her golden retriever puppy, Bow.

She was exhausted. The storm had raged throughout the night, making sleep impossible, but it broke as the dawn did, and now the sea lay as flat as glass, glistening in the cold winter sun. The strange woman still hadn't woken, even when Sara bandaged her wounds and covered her with a thick blanket. She looked human, and she had to be human - Sara had seen a lot in her life, a whole lot, but it had fallen mostly within the category of 'human.' She bled like a human; her eyes fluttered under her lids as she slept like a human. Her wet suit could be human, but it was indented in a way that made it look like a second scaly skin. 

It was nearly 8, and Sara sighed again. She got up to make herself breakfast, followed by a very eager puppy. She'd just finished making herself a coffee when she saw a movement in her peripheral vision. Sara turned. 

The woman was sat up on the couch, glaring at her.

"Hello." 

The woman didn't say anything.

"What, no thank you? I saved your life." She muttered, turning to pour some coffee into a second mug. She handed the mug over, and the woman took it, looking thoroughly confused.

"Wow, you really hit your head didn't you." Sara said, a little more worried. "Can you tell me your name?"

The woman opened her mouth, but all that came out was a series of clicks and squeaks. She snapped her mouth shut, then opened it again, but it was the same outcome. Sara raised her eyebrow. "Uh - I'm Sara. By the way."

There was no response, and Sara just sipped her drink. The mysterious woman watched her closely. After a few seconds, she raised the mug to her lips and drank too, eyebrows shooting up to her hairline.

Sara snorted. "Never had coffee before?"

Her answer came when the woman drank the rest of the mug as fast as humanly possible. (Or, Sara thought, maybe not humanly at all.) 

Sara made up two bowls of oatmeal, sprinkling a little extra brown sugar on top of both. She sat on the end of the sofa and didn't miss the way the woman pulled her legs up, away from her. She didn't respond when Sara waved the bowl in front of her. "You need to eat." Sara put a little on a spoon and ate it. She repeated the action but held the spoon out, and the woman parted her lips a little, and Sara spooned the mixture in.

A look of disgust crystallized in her features, and she dribbled it back out, the oatmeal dripping down her chin. Sara groaned.

"Okay! So, you like coffee and hate oatmeal. Noted." She got her a cloth and the woman cleaned the mixture from her chin, still scowling. Next, she tried an apple, showing the woman how to eat it. She took a bite, but that too got spat back out. Then bread, grapes, yogurt, crackers, a slice of cake and some cereal followed, all of which ended up on the floor. 

"What do you eat?" Sara groaned. "I'm being serious - do you eat?"

The woman looked at her, mouth down-turned. Sara threw open her fridge. There were only a few things she hadn't tried, and if the woman wasn't quite human - she pulled out a fish. It took her two minutes to gut and debone it with her knife - Sara found her assassin skills occasionally came in quite useful, living on a rock in the middle of nowhere. As it sat in the pan, sizzling gently, she saw the woman's eyes looking at her from over the couch. 

When it was done, she finished it with a little lemon. Sara didn't even get the chance to show her how to eat it, the woman just grasped it with both hands and swallowed it down. Then, she finally smiled. "Okay. Coffee and fish. I can work with that." Sara muttered.

They'd made a little progress, and now that the woman had eaten, she wasn't glaring daggers at Sara. She'd let her give her water and more coffee, but when Sara had tried to check the bandages, the woman pushed her away rather forcefully. When Bow had bounded up to meet her, she'd done the same to him, and Sara had decided to shut him outside for a bit.

She approached slowly with the first aid kit. "I need to clean the wounds. You'll get infected otherwise."

The woman glared.

"Please? I want to help." 

Sara knelt down, placing the red box on the coffee table. She opened it with a click, pulling out some antiseptic wipes and a fresh bandage. Carefully and slowly, she pulled back the blanket. The mysterious woman flinched when Sara's hand ghosted over the bandage on her stomach, but she didn't pull away. After carefully unwinding the bandage, Sara could see the injury more clearly.

She's had enough of her own to recognise when someone had been slashed by a knife, or maybe a sword. Luckily, it wouldn't need stitches, but was certainly deep enough to be causing her great pain. Sara pulled back the material of her suit, and marvelled at how strange it felt, but stayed focused on gently cleaning the area with the wipe. The woman stayed completely still, body coiled, as if she would bolt at any moment. Sara pulled some gauze from the box and carefully replaced the bandage.

Next, the head wound. The blood had soaked through the first bandage, but when Sara took a second look, it wasn't dangerously deep. She did the same - cleaning it, covering in gauze and winding the bandage around, gently twisting the woman's hair up to keep it out of the way. The woman kept her eyes locked to Sara's, her jaw tight.

"That's not deep enough to cause brain damage." Sara muttered, more to herself than anything. "And I don't think you've got any other bumps. So how come you can't tell me your name?"

The woman tried to speak again, but it was just more noises. She snapped it shut and scowled. 

"Uh. Okay. We can figure this out." 

The woman shifted uncomfortably, and Sara realised something. 

"Do you need the bathroom? I can help you get there." 

The woman just stared.

"Okay, we'll try this -" She nodded. "That means yes." She shook her head. "That means no. Do you understand?"

The woman nodded, clearly unconvinced, and Sara realised she had no way of actually knowing if she understood.

"Do you need the bathroom?" She tried again, and this time the woman nodded.

Sara helped her get up, not missing her hiss of pain or how she had almost all of her body weight resting against Sara's. Luckily, the tiny bathroom was downstairs.

She realised then she had no idea how one went to the bathroom in a wet suit, but the woman just pulled at the front, and it came off in one swift motion, and Sara quickly left to give her some privacy. She went upstairs and pulled out some jeans from the back of her closet - the ones that she had to cuff several times to stop them being too long, and a plaid shirt. She'd replaced most of her wardrobe when she moved away - less leather, more denim and flannel. It was more practical that way. 

Back downstairs, the woman had finished and was dressed again. She was leaning heavily on the sink, flicking the taps back and forth, completely focused on the drops of water collecting around the edges of the spout.

"I got you some clothes." Sara said gently, and the woman turned and cocked her head. "You can't wear your wetsuit all the time. It's all dirty and ripped." She pointed to the midriff, and the woman just shook her head. 

"Fine! Fine, suit yourself. Stay in that." She grumbled, dropping the clothes on the floor. She helped the mysterious woman to the sofa, who lay down but continued to glare at Sara. 

Within a few minutes, she was asleep.

///  
A few hours later, Sara was cooking dinner when she saw the woman sit up. Her face was a little red from the pillow, and she looked confused and quite adorable.

"I've got fish. You like fish, right?" 

The woman nodded enthusiastically, and Sara brought the two plates over, sitting in the armchair. 

The cottage next to the lighthouse was pretty small and open plan, but Sara liked it that way. The living area just had a sofa, an armchair, a TV and a mostly empty bookcase, with a small kitchen and dining table behind. The only thing that made it feel lived in was the rainbow crochet blanket that the previous lighthouse keeper had left. Sara liked it that way – devoid of personality, but now that a strange woman from the depths of the ocean was in her house, it made her feel a little self-conscious.

She watched as the woman picked at the fish with her thumb and forefinger - not as ravenous as earlier, but certainly eager. She was done in five minutes, and just watched as Sara ate her own.

Bow bounded in, tongue lolling out and the woman moved further back on the couch, not taking her eyes off the excitable puppy. Sara put her plate on the coffee table carefully and reached down to stroke his silky ears.

"It's okay. This is Bow, he's my dog. He won't hurt you." 

The woman didn't even acknowledge her, eyes un-moving.

"He's just a puppy. He wants to say hello."

Bow bounced over, and the woman didn't move her hand away from where it was clutched around the blanket when he sniffed her curiously. When his pink tongue darted out and took a lick, however, she squealed, a strange, high pitched noise, and pushed him away. Sara laughed, just a little, and the woman scowled at her.

"He does that to me too - he likes the salt." The woman looked up, expression unchanging, and Sara sighed. "Look, how about I run you a bath? You've had baths before, right?"

The woman didn't react. 

Twenty minutes later, the bath was ready, and Sara helped the woman up. She stopped in the bathroom doorway.

"That's a bath." Sara pointed to it, and wondered what she should do next - did the woman need help undressing? But before she could consider doing anything, the woman had wriggled out of her arms and launched herself into the bath, wet suit and all, causing a wave of water to slosh all over the floor.

"Why the fuck would you do that!" Sara yelled, but stopped when she saw the woman. Her smile was impossibly wide, and her eyes were closed in pure bliss. She kicked her legs a little, and Sara sighed. "I'll get a towel."

When she came back, the woman was gone. Sara ran forward to see her whole body and head were under the water – she grasped the front of the wetsuit and yanked her back up.

"What the hell are you doing?" She said, slightly breathlessly, and the woman scowled. She looked her in the eye and sunk back down into the water. Sara watched, mouth agape, as the woman submerged herself in the water, eyes open and smiling up at her. Her chest was rising and falling.

She was breathing. Underwater. 

Definitely not human, Sara thought, and let out a breath, before turning and leaving. There was only so much she could handle without having a drink first.

///

It was nearly dark by the time Sara knocked on the bathroom door again. The woman seemed perfectly content to sit in the lukewarm bath water, so Sara left her there as she climbed up to the lighthouse to switch on the great light. The lighthouse itself was small - a winding staircase lead up to a tiny room, filled mostly with the light in the centre, then the control panel and some maintenance equipment around the edge. She wiped a cloth over the glass casing and looked out over the bay. The sea was picking up, but there would be no storm tonight. She could make out the blinking lights of a few fishing boats in the distance. She flicked a switch on the control panel, descended the stairs then stepped out into the cold night, looking up to see the light as it made its wide arc, over the bay and far out to sea. 

It wasn't hard being a lighthouse keeper. She'd done this, every night, for nearly two years.

When she stepped back in the house, stomping the cold from her boots, she saw a shape in the doorway to the bathroom.

The woman was standing there, hair wet and dripping onto the wooden floor, dressed in the shirt and jeans Sara had laid out for her. Only not fully dressed - the shirt was hanging partially open, exposing her wonderfully toned abs and the swell of her breasts. Sara made a strange, choked sound, before mentally chastising herself. Living in the middle of nowhere had meant rather ... slim pickings, but she wasn't about to start lusting after a mysterious definitely-not-human fish woman. 

"You don't know how to do the buttons." Sara said, still a little breathless, and the woman shook her head slightly. After pulling off her boots and thick coat, Sara stood in front of her, eyes trained on her stomach as she did up each button. Surprisingly, the cut was nearly healed, only a line of pink, angry skin showed it had ever been there at all. When she was finished, Sara pulled the bandage from the woman's head to find that cut was just the same. 

"You heal fast, huh. I wish I could do that." She muttered. 

The woman stood, face tired and a little sad. "You can stay here, tonight, if you want." Sara said, and the woman nodded, the movement small. She moved towards the sofa, still a little unsteady, and lay down, facing away from Sara. It was a rather obvious hint.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sara uses some great fishy insults, we discover where Ava is from and everyone takes a road-trip to a lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for discussions of a fear of water / drowning

In the morning, Sara got up early. The woman just watched as she rummaged in the back of her cupboard to find breakfast, bringing out a rather old can of tuna. Sara didn't need to be able to speak whatever language this woman was to understand what the affronted sound she made meant.

"Look, it's all I have. Unless you wanna try real food again?" 

The woman frowned. Sara opened then handed her the can, which she sniffed, then promptly lobbed it out the window, shattering the glass.

"Fucking hell! Can you not?" 

The woman seemed unmoved by Sara's shouting, and just crossed her arms. "Right, well, we're gonna have to go into the village then." Sara said, exasperated, as she pulled on her boots and threw a pair of trainers at the woman. She didn't move.

"I'm not leaving you here alone to wreck my house - any more than you already have. So, put the shoes on and come with me, or you can go back to wherever you came from." The woman scowled but did as she was told. After helping her do the laces, Sara whistled for Bow, and attached a leash to his bright red collar.

"You'll need a coat." Sara muttered, pointing to the coat rack, but the woman just shook her head. "Fine! Suit yourself, fish legs. Be cold." 

The woman made an indignant noise, seemingly at the nickname, but followed Sara out the door and to the car.

Sara helped Bow scramble into the back of the truck, and moved to open the door for the woman, who seemed to understand, and sat in the seat. It was a pretty beat-up old pick up that Sara had bought off a guy at a garage when she moved away from Star City. It was constantly breaking down, but Sara was a decent mechanic - she still hadn't gotten round to redoing the flaking red paint though.

After showing her what to do with the seat-belt, Sara started the engine, not missing the way the mysterious woman jumped at the sound. They were halfway down the winding coastal road when Sara felt she'd calmed down enough to look over. The woman looked terrified, hands gripping the seat, staring straight ahead, and Sara couldn't help but laugh a little.

"This is a car. We're safe, don't worry. I'm a good driver."

The woman raised one eyebrow.

"Look at Bow. He's enjoying himself." Sara gestured to the back, and the woman looked through the window and metal grill that separated the back from the front. Bow was barking happily, floppy ears fluttering in the wind. 

She turned back, and slowly, slowly, loosened her grip on the seat.

They reached the bay within half an hour, and Sara could see the trawler that was moored there, with the men hauling the catch onto the jetty. A few people were already down there, gathering round the little stall set up to sell the catch to those who wanted it as fresh as possible - mostly locals and some out of town restaurant owners. The village itself was small, just a few scattered houses, mostly clustered around the bay and the dock. Sara parked up and helped Bow get out.

She greeted the fishermen and was examining a tray of plaice when one of them coughed. "Miss Lance? Your ... friend, she's -"

Sara turned to see the woman had both hands in the tub of tiny prawns, pulling them out by the handful and stuffing them in her mouth, not even bothering to chew. 

She groaned. "How much for the lot?" 

Ten minutes later, they were sat back in the truck. "A week’s wages. On bloody shrimp!" She groaned. The barrel sat in the truck bed, mocking her, Bow sniffing it cautiously. The woman just grinned at her, pulling a few shrimps from her pocket. She held one out.

"I don't - " Sara pinched the bridge of her nose and reminded herself, not for the first time in those few days, that she was a reformed assassin. "You eat them. I'm fine."

The woman did, throwing them in the air this time, catching each one in her teeth. Sara decided it was best the woman stayed in the car when she drove up to the supermarket and the hardware store.

///

It was a quiet afternoon. Sara repaired the window, and the woman watched on. She ran her another bath, directing her to use the shampoo and conditioner to clean the last of the blood and sand from her hair, then went to walk Bow along the bay. 

The evening sun was sending golden rays across the ocean, the light glinting off the rocks and settling in the little rock pools and puddles. Sara picked her way across them, failing to keep up with the energetic puppy, but she stopped when she saw something else glinting between the rocks.

She raised an eyebrow. It was a trident, golden and splendid, with three prongs at the top, each topped with an arrow. As Sara got closer, she could see the whole thing was carved, covered in a complicated pattern of swirls and lines. She picked it up, a little surprised at how light it felt - like her bo-staff, just a little heavier at one end. It handled like her bo-staff too, as she gave it a few experimental swings.

"Hey - I think I found something of yours." She called when she got in the doorway, and saw the woman was sat at the kitchen table. She brightened when she saw the trident and was by Sara's side in an instant, plucking it from her grasp and staring at it.

"This is getting more like the 'Little Mermaid' every day." Sara muttered, mostly to herself, but the woman cocked her head in confusion. "It's a story for kids." Sara clarified. "A mermaid gives her voice to a sea witch, so she can go to shore and meet the man she's in love with. He has to kiss her and then she gets her voice back."

It all happened rather quickly. The woman ducked her head down and brought her lips to Sara's. 

Her brain went blank. All Sara could think was how soft she was, and how she tasted a little of salt, but before she could come to her senses, the woman pulled back. She opened her mouth. All that came out were the same squeaking, clicking sounds as earlier, and she frowned.

"Guess it's still just a story, huh." Sara said quietly, but the woman wasn't listening. She was too busy examining the trident in her hands, her thumbs running over the designs.

That night, after a rather prawn filled dinner, Sara left to clean the lamp. She jumped a little when she felt the presence of someone behind her, and saw the woman was at the top of the stairs, looking out to the sea. The sun was setting, and it had set the sky ablaze, sending unbroken streaks of red and orange as far as the eye could see, reflected in the gentle lapping sea. 

"You're from out there, aren't you?" Sara said quietly, rubbing the dirt from her hands using an old rag. The woman nodded. "Why don't you go home?"

She looked down, and when she looked up, Sara could see tears on her cheeks. She wiped at them deftly, eyebrows knitting in confusion, and Sara stepped forward to catch her hands. "You're crying. It's okay, it's okay." The woman shook her head and more tears came.

"I can't go home either." Sara whispered. She didn't know why she was telling this to a strange woman she'd met three days ago, but she was. She ran her thumbs over the back of her hands, in what she hoped was a calming motion. "I know it's awful. I know."

The woman sniffed, her eyes met Sara's, and her mouth quirked up, just a little. It was a pretty weak and watery half smile, but Sara would take it. The sun finally ducked below the horizon, and the room was lit only by a faint red glow.

"I need to put the light on." She said quietly, and it broke the spell. The woman stepped backwards, wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt, before turning to walk down the staircase, a little slow and unsure. 

///

They sat on the couch, covered in the blanket, with Bow laying between them. Over the last week of living together, they'd reached a strange detente, and the woman had even warmed up a little to the dog. It was strange. The woman showed no signs of wanting to leave, and Sara didn't really want her to go, so they just accommodated each-other, moving round the house in a comfortable silence.

Sara turned on the TV - the first time she'd done so, the woman had almost put her trident through it, and wouldn't put it down until Sara had assured her it was okay, and the strange light box wasn't out to hurt her.

"You pick something." Sara said, throwing the remote over, before standing up to check on the dinner. She was starting to think prawns for every meal wasn't such a good idea, so she'd made pasta for herself, and cod for the woman. When she turned, she raised her eyebrows.

The woman was on the floor, tapping the TV screen, making little squeaking noises. She'd turned over to the History Channel, and on the screen, the title appeared. 

"The Secrets of Atlantis." Sara said, slightly confused, but the woman just nodded furiously, and suddenly everything clicked. "That's where you're from? Atlantis? Like the lost city under the sea?" 

Sara had never seen her smile so wide. 

"No fucking way." She whispered and sat heavily on the couch. "That's awesome." She looked over to see the strange woman sat back on the couch, shovelling the fish into her mouth, still smiling, and Sara could help but laugh.

The next day she went down to the tiny library in the village and got a strange look from the old woman behind the counter when she checked out every book they had on Atlantis - including the kids ones. At home, she spread them over the table, pushing down the nose of the curious Bow. The woman was in the bath again - Sara was sure her water bill for the month was going to be extortionate, then she wondered when she became so boring that she cared about things like that.

She picked up a pale blue volume, with "The People of Atlantis" embossed on the cover in delicate gold letters. She flicked through, mostly looking at the pictures, which were black and white sketches of various parts of Atlantis - statues, great squares and public buildings, fish flitting in and out of the columns - a beautiful sunken city. Her hand stilled on one page.

Sara turned when she heard the woman come through, using a towel to dry the ends of her hair. She held up the book. "Is this real? Is this really your alphabet?" 

The woman's eyes widened, and she nodded excitedly. She reached over on the table to grab a pencil and paper and wrote out three characters.

"A ... V ... A - wait. Ava. Is that your name?" The woman was beaming, nodding furiously, and Sara couldn't help but grin back. "Ava." She repeated, a little quieter. "It's pretty. It suits you." The woman - Ava - blushed a little, then sat down at the table and started flicking through the children's book on Atlantis, which was mostly pictures. 

Sara was pulled from her reading about the history of Atlantis when she was tapped on the shoulder. Ava's book was open on a page that appeared to show a royal family - a man and a woman, both with tridents, sat on two thrones, with smaller thrones for a younger man and woman. Ava pointed to the younger woman and then to herself.

"That's a - wait, you're a princess?" Sara gaped a little. She was barely used to the idea she was now kind of roommates with a fish woman from a lost civilization, let alone that she was somehow in line to its throne. Ava just nodded, smiling sadly.

"Why would you leave?" Sara wondered out loud, and she watched as Ava pointed to the boy prince, then to the couple on the throne. When it was clear she didn't understand, Ava rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to her fingers before pointing to the prince again, then pointedly shaking her head.

"You didn't kiss him?" Sara said, trying not to turn this into a game of charades. Then, something clicked. "Wait - you didn't marry him. You didn't want to."

Ava nodded.

"'Cause you didn't love him?" She said quietly, and Ava gave a look. 

Sara knew that look. Apparently the look transcended all boundaries of space, time and language. 

"Oh. You don't like boys." She put out gently, and Ava nodded and blushed a little.

"Nice. I also like girls. And boys." Sara said. As soon as she'd said it, she wondered why, but Ava seemed unfazed. "So they wouldn't let you marry another princess?"

Ava shook her head again, the few tears suddenly on her cheeks apparently surprising them both.

"Hey, it's okay. Here, no one tells you who to marry - you can be with anyone, boy or girl or whoever." Sara said, reaching out to rub her forearm.

They spent the rest of the evening on the couch, Sara's legs in Ava's lap, flicking through the books quietly. That night, Sara dreamt of silent stone and pale blue waters, and of the girl with the bluest eyes of all.

///

The day the water bill came through, Sara decided it was time for action.

"If you can’t go to the ocean, I'm gonna take you somewhere else to swim." She told her over breakfast. Within twenty minutes, they'd packed the truck, and were heading down the highway.

"It's a lake - it's all safe, and it should be empty because it's February." Sara explained, and Ava nodded, just a little, like she wasn't quite certain. They spent the rest of the journey in a comfortable silence, only broken occasionally by Bow's barking.

When they got there, Sara had barely shut off the engine before Ava was out of the door, pulling off her shirt and trousers as she ran to the water’s edge, dropping them haphazardly on the sand. Luckily (or unluckily, a treacherous part of Sara's brain supplied) she was wearing her wet-suit underneath - Sara had cleaned it one afternoon and carefully repaired the rip. 

In one swift motion, Ava reached the shore and jumped, flinging herself into the air before landing with a huge splash a good twenty feet away from the shore. Sara laughed, laying a blanket down and stretching out on it. She flicked open a soda can, watching the ripples in the water contentedly as she drank. Bow bounded around the beach, tongue lolling, occasionally bringing her stick to throw. 

About a half hour later, Ava emerged from the water, flopping herself down on the ground and stretching out. Sara couldn't help but match her beaming smile and she bumped their shoulders together.

"Having fun?" She asked, and Ava nodded enthusiastically. Then, before she had any time to work out what has happening, she found herself being pulled up and along by the hand as Ava dragged her to the water. They were almost at the shoreline when Sara pulled back, skittering backwards from the lapping water.

"I - I can't go in, Ava, it's freezing." Ava looked at her and shrugged, trying to pull her in again, but Sara resisted, a little more forcefully. She tried not to flinch when she felt the water hitting her boots. "No - I won't, lay off okay?" 

Ava looked at her with one eyebrow raised, like she was mocking her, and Sara yanked her hand back and trudged back up to the truck. She only got halfway there when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Ava turned her, gently, and rested a palm on her cheek. Her expression was one of confusion and worry, and Sara sighed.

"I don't swim. I hate the water." She said shortly. Ava's eyes, such a pale blue, roamed her face, as if seeking to understand. Sara sighed and looked over at Bow, who was playing chase with the waves. "I almost died once, in the sea. I nearly drowned. It was years ago, but -" Her breath hitched, and she felt Ava's thumb run over her cheekbone. "I just don't do water, okay?"

Ava still looked confused, and Sara couldn't blame her. What person in their right mind, with a crippling fear of drowning, went to work in a lighthouse? Sara opened her mouth, maybe to explain that she'd chosen the lighthouse as punishment, for everyone she'd hurt and killed, for dying herself, for maybe killing her sister, because all her actions had led to that, one way or another. Her own personal hell, reminding her with every stormy night and every crash of the sea of everything she'd done wrong. 

She shut her mouth. She couldn't say anything, Ava would think she was mad. Maybe she was. Sara looked up, meeting Ava's eyes, full of confusion and kindness. 

"It's okay. I'm okay." She whispered. "Go, go have fun. I'll stay here."

Ava let go of her cheek, pulling back, suddenly awkward.

"Actually, go play with Bow. He loves the water." Sara said with rather a forced smile, and Ava smiled back hesitantly, before walking back to the shore and whistling. Bow followed her at once, and they ended up in the shallows of the water, both leaping around, and Sara laughed, the happy sound bubbling up inside her. Ava looked over, hair wild and strung out, and when she saw Sara, she laughed too, a funny sound. Not quite human and beautifully so.

They stayed all day, Ava playing until Bow got tired and curled up next to Sara for a nap. Then Ava just swam, back and forth in lazy circles, and Sara just watched until the light started to fade, sitting with her arms around her knees.

Eventually, they packed up and left. Sara laid a towel out on the seat and wrapped another around Ava's shoulders - she didn't seem to feel the cold, but just liked the feeling of it. Bow was asleep in the truck bed, and Sara tried to stay focused on the road and not on the adorable happy humming sounds Ava seemed to be making subconsciously. 

"We can go back, if you want. Maybe next week." Sara said quietly, and Ava cocked her head a little. "To the lake." She clarified. "We can go back, whenever you want. Just - promise me you'll stop having so many fucking baths, okay?" The end of her sentence was cut off by Ava's excited squeal, and she bent over the centre console to press a kiss against her cheek. 

"Ava - not when I'm driving!" Sara said, laughing too, and when Ava settled back in her seat, she reached out and interlocked their fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't decide which i like better - sea lumberjack sara with strong arms who quietly fixes things or sea princess ava with soft abs and salt-mussed hair


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara has a nightmare, Ava gains a pet and everything comes to fruition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why do things always get sexy at this exact point in all my fics?? i’m v predictable wow
> 
> tw: mild injury, knife mention, nightmares, smut.

It got warmer, slowly. The flowers in the garden began to bloom, little specks of yellow and pink over the wind-swept and salt covered grass. Ava started to spend more time outside – walking Bow across the bay in the early morning, then coming back to train with her trident in the garden, often in just a t-shirt and leggings. At first, Sara had just tried to ignore her, stealing side glances as she worked on fixing and painting their garden fence. She told herself she’d always been meaning to do it, but the job was made far more enjoyable if she could watch Ava swing her trident methodically whilst doing it.

Eventually, something inside got the better of her, and she joined Ava in the garden with her bo-staff, training alongside her. The princess seemed impressed, and they'd had some friendly sparring matches, but this morning Ava was starting to be a little more aggressive.

"You wanna fight, fish legs?" Sara said with a grin, and Ava rolled her eyes dramatically, bringing the trident down on the staff, before swinging it round. Sara had to move quickly to block her, sliding it up so they were brought closer together. 

"Bring it, princess." She said, with a smirk, and Ava stepped backwards. They were perfectly in sync; the only sounds were weapons clashing loudly and heavy breathing. Ava's style was elegant but strong, taking advantage of her height, and Sara responded in turn. 

She was there, breathless in the garden, the salty sea breeze whipping at her hair - and then she wasn't, she was in a dark room lit by torches, there was a flash of brunette hair and dark eyes - Sara was brought back to reality sharply.

Ava's eyes were wide, and the point of her trident was embedded into Sara's shoulder. 

She must've passed out for a second, as the next thing she knew, she was on the couch, Ava supporting her head and pressing a kitchen towel into her shoulder. The shoulder that was bleeding so heavily it was making her feel lightheaded. 

"You need to get the first aid kit - it's under the sink." She said through gritted teeth. Ava was pale, her eyes watery, but she nodded. Sara whined a little when she left – she hadn’t realised until that moment how much Ava’s strong arms were holding her together - but Ava was back within a minute, ripping the material away from her shoulder, eyeing the wound with no small amount of horror.

"Is it deep?" She said through gritted teeth, and Ava nodded. "There's gauze in the box. Can you -" She didn't need to say anything more. Ava, with shaking hands bandaged her shoulder, winding it round and pining it securely, flinching slightly every time Sara made a noise.

"Thanks." Sara said, slightly breathless with the pain. She saw Ava's pained look and her expression softened, and she brought her good hand up to cradle her cheek. "Hey, Ava, it's okay. This wasn't your fault."

Ava shook her head, tears on her cheeks and eyelashes, and Sara wiped them away with her thumb. "Oh, no - I got distracted. This isn't your fault, it's just what happens sometimes." Nothing seemed to be making a difference, so Sara tried a half smile. "When this has healed, we're having a rematch. I'm not letting you win next time, princess." At the nickname, Ava finally smiled, and Sara did too.

Ava was exceedingly kind for the rest of the day, bringing her food (mostly a lot of bread, Ava still hadn't quite grasped human food yet) and drink (mostly whiskey, which Sara was a lot more enthusiastic about.) Sara just watched as she cleaned the house, took Bow out for two walks and when it got dark, she left, and it wasn't long before she could see the white light of the lighthouse beam through the windows.

Sara had taught her all about the lighthouse, and they spent every evening up there. It was nice to have someone to talk to whilst she cleaned the lamp and did repairs, and Ava seemed content to listen and occasionally hold the flashlight when Sara needed it. She'd clearly been paying attention, Sara thought sleepily.

It was late – Sara could see a smattering of stars through the window. She was half asleep, head heavy from blood loss and alcohol, when she felt strong arms around her, underneath her knees and around her back, lifting her gently, carrying up the stairs and depositing her in her bed. She cracked open her eyes and saw Ava was standing by the bed, shrouded in soft darkness.

"Stay." Sara whispered.

The bed dipped. Ava lay next to her, on top of the covers. She moved, gently, and intertwined their hands. 

She was gone in the morning, but the space she'd left was still a little warm, and a hot cup of coffee was on the nightstand, the steam curling in the pale morning light.

///

They became practically inseparable over the next week, as Ava did everything Sara couldn’t do one-handed, which mostly included getting dressed and tying her shoelaces. They were also trapped in the house, because Ava was clearly still too nervous about driving to let her drive with only one hand, and Sara wasn’t about to teach someone to drive when they lived on a cliff edge. She was mostly capable – Sara had had worse injuries, but Ava wouldn’t let her do anything strenuous. She even finished painting the fence for her.

Ava spent the next night in the bed, and the next, and the next, even as her shoulder healed and she didn't need so much help anymore. Sara could have pretended she was just being a courteous roommate, but the truth was she liked the certainty of it. Ava was a heavy sleeper, and she made the smallest little noises when she was just waking up that forced Sara to turn to hide her smile. They didn't touch, not deliberately, but sometimes Sara woke up with an arm around her waist or their legs tangled together. 

She knew it was selfish to want Ava there. Having someone beside her always seemed to keep the nightmares at bay a little longer, but Sara knew she couldn't run forever.

She knew it was a dream. She always knew it was a dream, but that didn't seem to make it any easier to bear. The knife was in her hand, coated with blood, the dark slick dripping down her arm. Her teeth were bared, and Sara felt it, the undiluted power and electric anger that coursed through her veins, and she loved it. As she turned, she saw her victim on the ground, and the knife fell from her hand. Laurel lay there, lifeless, body marred by cuts and slashes that coated her with blood and tore her apart. A thin line of blood ran from the side of her mouth to the floor and her eyes were open, glassy and unseeing yet so blue.

Sara woke up with a jolt, scrambling away from the pressure on her chest, but she went too far and fell off the bed, hitting her bad shoulder on the way down, causing it to light up. Her brain short-circuited.

She didn't realise she was crying until she opened her eyes to see Ava kneeling in front of her, illuminated by the soft glow of the lamp. She had her hand on Sara's cheek, and was stroking her cheekbone with her thumb, whilst the other hand worked to gently untangle her fists, which were balled up, clinging onto her pyjama pants. She was making funny murmuring sounds, somewhere between humming and speech.

It was comforting, but Sara didn't want to let go just yet. The image of her sister was still fresh in her mind, she couldn't think of anything else, and now her breath was coming out in harsh gasps. Ava's face morphed from worry to downright fear and she moved to gently rest her hand on Sara's injured shoulder. That sent shivers of pain down her spine and Sara used all her strength to shake her head.

"No - Aves, it's not - please, don't -" 

Ava let go immediately, crawling backwards a little. She sat there in silence as Sara finally got a hold of her breathing and opened her eyes fully. Ava looked beautiful in the low light, hair fluffy from sleep, eyes dark as she stared at Sara, biting her lip. The image was comforting, and when Sara reached out her hand, Ava took it, threading their fingers together. 

It took a while, but her tears subsided as the pain in her shoulder did. The image of Laurel was still there in her mind, but Sara knew it wasn't really her, and she could put it away, where she hid all the feelings and memories from a past she'd never stopped running from.

Ava must have sensed the change, as she moved forward to kneel in front of Sara again. Both hands came up to wipe the sticky tears from her cheeks and smooth the hair back from her forehead.

"Thanks." Sara whispered, unwilling to break the soft silence of the night. Ava just moved round, stood up, then picked Sara up like she had before, gently putting her back in the bed like she weighed nothing. That made Sara laugh, and she turned to lie on her uninjured shoulder, so she could face Ava when she got back in their bed. Ava lay down gently beside her, reaching down to hold her hand, bringing it up in the space between them to press a kiss to her knuckles.

It was an indication, and Sara realised how she could read Ava now. They understood each-other, in a weird sense. 

She took a deep breath. "It was a nightmare. I get nightmares - about the things I've done - the people I've hurt -"

She was off then, the whole story came pouring out - the Gambit, the League, being the Canary, losing her sister, then running away, as far as she could, shutting herself away in a lighthouse at the end of the world. Ava listened, never letting go of her hand. It was dawn when she finished, and she was breathless and exhausted from pouring out her soul. The last thing she felt was Ava's hand, soft in her own.

Sara blinked. She must've fallen asleep, the light outside was more golden now, and the space next to her in the bed was empty. She got up in a flash, taking the stairs two at a time, ignoring the throbbing in her shoulder, but she stopped when she saw a shape in the kitchen. Ava was knelt down, spooning dog food into Bow's bowl, ruffling his ears as she did so. The kettle was on, the steam gently fogging up the window.

"You're still here."

Ava stood up, eyebrow raised. Sara stepped forward and Ava met her halfway, a hand coming up to cradle her cheek. She looked confused, and Sara just laughed, light and free. 

"You stayed - I told you everything and you stayed."

Ava nodded, raising an eyebrow, like it was a stupid question. Of course she would stay.

Sara stood up on her tiptoes and kissed her, as if they'd kissed a thousand times before. She didn't even get a chance to pull back and gauge Ava's expression because strong arms were around her waist, holding her there, and they kissed as the morning sun filtered through the window.

///

As the spring took its long arc into summer, Sara still wasn't used to her new life, not used to the happiness. She'd wake up with Ava and they'd orbit round each-other, as they drank their coffee and did little chores. Ava liked to bring in flowers from the garden and keep them in jam jars, and their windowsills were now covered in all the interesting shells and bits of sea glass that she found on the shore. They went into the village a few times a week and the lake occasionally, and for the first time, Sara could feel a future stretching out in front of her, tentative and terrifying all at once.

Ava had taken it upon herself to learn to read and write in English, and she'd been doing quite well with the books Sara had borrowed from the library. Her first shaky attempts at writing 'Ava' 'Sara' and 'Bow' had been stuck onto the fridge, and she'd started to put sticky notes around the house with carefully constructed words on, labelling everything. Sara had woken up one morning to find one on her forehead with her name, and one on her boobs that just said 'yes'.

"Teach me Atlantean." Sara said one morning as she sipped her coffee. Ava, her mouth mostly filled with tuna, cocked her head to the side. "You're learning English, I should learn Atlantean." 

It turned out Atlantean was pretty complicated, especially when the person teaching it to you only communicates in humming noises and annoyed eyebrows. It was a circular alphabet, and each indent represented a different letter. Words were formed on one big circle, twisting around clockwise and several circles together made a sentence.

Sara wasn't the most responsive learner – she’d barely finished high-school when the Gambit went down - but Ava was patient and beamed with pride when she managed to write out 'Sara', 'Ava', and 'Bow’, taping it to the fridge in a house that was starting to feel a lot more like theirs.

///

They'd made out before. A lot. But this time it felt different - they were on the bed, Sara was in Ava's lap, and she was kissing her hard and her fingers were running over her hipbone whilst the other hand held her waist firmly in place and Sara was practically squirming -

"You wanna - do this, baby?" She said, embarrassingly breathless. The dark of Ava's eyes was answer enough, but she still nodded. "Okay." Sara whispered. "I want this. I want you, so much - " Ava's lips on her throat cut her off. Sara could feel herself melting into her touch, wishing those strong hands would travel lower -

"Wait - wait - we have to -" She moved backwards slightly, noticing how Ava's face fell, just a fraction. "No, Aves, I just want to - if you want to stop, at any time, for any reason, or no reason at all - just squeeze my shoulder, and we can stop. Is that okay?" 

Ava nodded. 

"Try it, now, just so I know." She did, squeezing her shoulder gently with a small smile. Sara settled herself on her knees and started to toy with the bottom of her shirt. "Okay. Can I take this off?" 

Ava nodded enthusiastically, already unbuttoning it, and it made Sara laugh. The shirt was on the floor in an instant.

“You’re so fucking hot.” Sara murmured, her voice muffled as she pressed gentle kisses to the skin between her breasts, using her hand to unclasp her bra. That followed the shirt onto the floor, and Sara wasted no time exploring the newly revealed skin. When she bit down lightly, Ava made a delicious sound, a breathy sigh. Whilst her mouth worked, hot and teasing, her hands moved down to her toned stomach. Ava’s hands were suddenly in her hair, urging her downward with just enough force to be the right side of painful, and Sara looked up. “Patience, princess.”

Ava made a whining, frustrated sound, but Sara could tell she wasn’t really annoyed, not yet, so she continued her path downward, pressing her lips to each new piece of skin exposed. She was at her belly button, thumbs making indents in her hips when Ava pulled her up and their lips met, the kiss burning. Her eyes were desperate, and Sara couldn’t help but smirk. She kept their eyes locked as she flicked the button on her pants open. She didn’t even have to ask, Ava was already nodding furiously, pulling her back in for another kiss, as Sara dipped her fingers underneath her waistband.

Sara had a brief, momentary panic when she wondered if Ava was as human as she looked, biologically – but Ava was soft and warm and familiar, and so wet for her. She was making little squeaking sounds, but as Sara moved her fingers a little faster, they became breathy moans, and she made a real sound, low and loud when Sara started rubbing circles on her clit. Sara was muttering incoherently between kisses, about how hot Ava was and how much she wanted this, and the hand in her hair clenched when she slid her fingers in. It didn’t take long then – for someone so loud, Ava came quietly, hiding any sound she made by burying her face in Sara’s neck. She was limp as Sara fucked her through it, before gently pulling her fingers out and wiping them on the sheets. Ava was still nestled in her shoulder, her hot breath a little ticklish, until Sara tilted her head so their eyes could meet.

“That good, huh?”

Ava just rolled her eyes, but any sarcasm was lost in the pink of her cheeks. Sara was so lost in this new colour she didn’t notice the way Ava’s hands moved to her hips until she’d flipped her, so she was now on her back, her head on the pillows, with Ava looking at her from between her knees. Sara’s breath caught in her throat – she looked so beautiful, hair wild and eyes dark, the blush extending down her neck to colour the top of her chest.

Ava pulled her pants off with almost calculated slowness, pressing feather light kisses to the inside of her thighs, one hand on Sara’s stomach to keep her hips from bucking. Sara knew this was what she’d done earlier, but she couldn’t help but make the same frustrated sounds. Her vision went white when Ava suddenly pressed her mouth against her cunt, her tongue hard and fast, and she could feel everything. Her thoughts lost their coherency as Ava went down on her, never letting up, until she couldn’t stand it any longer and everything came crashing down in the best possible way. She didn’t even realise Ava was still going until the second orgasm washed over her.

It took her a minute to come back to reality, and when she did, she saw Ava there, looking beautiful, and a little smug.

“You don’t have to come up for air.” Sara said quietly, looking up at Ava with wonder. She just nodded, and Sara kissed her, tasting herself on her tongue.

///

The summer storms were different than the winter ones, hotter and wilder. Sara had just finished setting up the light, watching as the ocean churned, and wondered if she could persuade Ava to make a batch of snickerdoodles. She’d just started baking, and for someone who didn’t taste her food, she was remarkably good at it. 

She stopped. Out in the distance was a shape, like a ship, but it was tilting -

The radio crackled to life and a voice came through, requesting assistant, and Sara took the stairs two at a time.

“Aves! We gotta go – there’s a boat – they need our help.”

Ava jumped up from the couch, dislodging Bow from his position on her lap with a yelp. She ran out, not even bothering with shoes or a coat, and they ran together to the shore, were Sara had a small dingy moored for emergencies. They dragged it out, setting it on the already shifting sands, and Ava looked up at her, cheeks pink from the exertion.  
Sara froze. She couldn’t do this – not the tiny boat in the wild sea, even though she could see the light of the sinking boat in the distance, not even when lives were at stake. She couldn’t breathe – then Ava stepped forward, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then dragged the boat to the edge of the water and dived in. Within minutes, she’d disappeared, although Sara could just make out the red of the dingy as it bobbed up and down in the waves.

It seemed like an eternity when she saw the dingy come back, now filled with what looked like people, but she couldn’t breathe, not until she saw Ava – then she was right there, rising from the waves in her sodden jeans and shirt, rope tied round her waist so she could pull the boat behind her. Sara ran forward, and they dragged the boat up the shore together.

“How many of you? In the boat – how many were there?” She asked, and a man in the boat stuttered that there were six – seven if they counted the cat. When she saw the boat contained the six, Sara grinned in relief, and turned to see Ava untying herself with one hand, cradling a wiry grey cat in the other. She stepped forward and kissed her, holding her face in her hands, putting her admiration and hope and love into the touch, and when she pulled away, Ava was grinning, eyes bright and shining.

They made their way up to the house and gave the unlucky fishermen towels and space on the radiator to dry their clothes, as well as a hot cup of coffee. They told them they’d gotten off course after a large catch and hadn’t noticed the rocks until it was too late. Sara tried to make conversation and steer them away from asking Ava anything, but Ava mostly stayed in the kitchen, feeding strips of chicken to the cat. By the morning, when they were warm and dry, she pointed them in the direction of the village – they’d refused a lift in the truck, stating the pair had done enough for their little group already. Each thanked them both for the rescue one by one, but the oldest – an elderly man with a thick white beard and beady eyes, waited in the doorway. He’d barely spoken the whole night – he just shook Sara’s hand, then moved to Ava, where he bowed low.

When they were gone, Sara turned on her heels. “Wait, did he know? How did he -” She stopped.

Ava was sat on the floor again, the cat nestled in her lap. Bow came in hesitantly – Sara had kept him upstairs; the living room had been crowded enough – and started to sniff their unexpected guest. 

“Did you keep their cat?” Sara asked, and Ava just shrugged, smiling as she ran her hand along its back, causing the cat to purr, loud and low. “That’s not – we can’t keep that.”   
Ava looked up and stuck out her bottom lip.

“We already have a pet!” She said, gesturing at Bow, who was now resting his head on Ava’s thigh and gently licking the cat’s tail. “And you’re basically a fish, which is a pet.”  
She still didn’t let up with the pout, and Sara sighed, slumping down to sit beside her. The league had trained her to withstand torture, but not the torture of having a woman staring at her through her lashes, eyes pleading. “Fine. We’ll keep her.”

Ava turned slightly to press a kiss to her cheek, and Sara just lay her head on her shoulder and her heart stuttered a little as she surveyed their strange family. 

Sara named the cat Storm, because that seemed cool and appropriate and made Sara feel a bit better that she was a former assassin who now had a cat and a dog, and she still couldn’t find a way to make both of them stop sleeping in her bed. The cat also purred in such a low tone it sounded like thunder, which Ava found endlessly amusing.

////

"Right, we should try something." Ava turned from where she was sat on the couch to look up at Sara, who sat down, cross legged, opposite her. She gently manoeuvred Ava to do the same. It was the evening, but still light out, and they wouldn’t have to climb up to the lighthouse for at least an hour yet. "I'm gonna teach you how to speak. I'm tired of you squawking every time you want something."

Ava made a slightly outraged squeaking sound, and Sara laughed.

"No, Aves, I'm serious." She said, reaching forward to tuck some hair behind her ear. Ava raised an eyebrow but smiled, the soft smirk she seemed to wear just for her.

"Right, watch my mouth. A. Aaaa." Sara said, trying to enunciate the letter. Ava opened her mouth, but no sound came out. After a couple of letters and no success, Ava rocked forward and kissed Sara, pushing her backwards onto the couch as Sara laughed.

"Ava, you're meant to be -" Sara's breath hitched when Ava’s mouth made contact with her neck, "- learning." She finished, a little breathless. Ava didn't listen, and when her hand started to travel up her shirt, Sara forgot all about it.

Later that night, Sara was curled up in Ava's arms.

"Aves?"

The other woman hummed a little as Sara raised her head.

"I don't care, if you never talk. I don't mind. I love you just as you are."

Ava looked down, eyes a little watery, and pressed a kiss to her hairline. Sara knew what it meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also yeah i know the cat isn’t merlin, but he doesn’t belong here. its storm’s universe now


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We return to the present day, and the story is complete

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: descriptions of drowning
> 
> if you’ve seen aquaman you know whats coming lol

Sara was sat on the armchair, kicking her legs over the arm, reading aloud from The Little Mermaid as Ava lay on the couch, Storm on her lap, making faces at Bow who was rolling around on the carpet. The evenings were longer and a little warmer now, the sea calmer. Sara put the book down.

"I was thinking - I could get someone to mind the light and we could take a trip somewhere. Maybe down to the waterfall at Paradise. You'd like it there."   
Ava nodded, smile wide.

The front door was flung across the room, the crash and sudden gust of wind making them both jump. In the doorway was stood what appeared to be a man, dressed in a white wet suit and a helmet, his face obscured by the silver visor, holding a trident with vicious spikes on the end. Ava was in the kitchen in an instant, throwing Sara her bo-staff and pointing her trident at the door.

More came then, barging through, focused entirely on Ava. The first one brought his trident down, but Ava blocked it, face twisted in fury, and Sara understood. There were six of them, skilled fighters, but Sara had never lost the edge the League gave her, and it wasn't long before three were out cold on the living room floor. She looked over, breathing heavily and full of adrenaline, to see Ava standing over two others, but one had her by the throat - Sara worked on instinct, vaulting over the couch and bringing her staff down on the back of his head. He crumpled, and everything was quiet again.

Ava looked up. There was a bruise on her neck, and her face was flushed. There was silence.

Sara watched from the window as Ava dragged the bodies, one by one, down to the sea and threw them in. She made her way back to the house, her shoulders set and heavy. 

"They came to take you back, didn't they?" She said quietly but Ava ignored her, climbing the stairs to the bedroom. When she came back down, she had her wetsuit in her hands and tears in her eyes. 

Sara's heart dropped. 

Ava stepped forward and kissed her, and it felt too much like a goodbye, so when she tried to pull away Sara held onto her shirt.

"You can't, Aves, you can't go." She whispered. Ava made a noise, her face contorted in anguish, and Sara realised then how frustrating it must be, to go unheard. 

She just shook her head again.

"You're not going." She whispered, and Ava lifted her arm, thumb stroking over a bruise that was blossoming on Sara's skin. She pried Sara's hand from her shirt to kiss the spot, her eyes wide and sad.

"No - Aves, you're not - you don't need to protect me." Ava nodded her head and Sara clung tighter to the shirt, squeezing her eyes shut. "You can't go. We've only just started this, I can't lose you now. I won't." Her voice broke a little and she tried to hide her tears by kissing Ava again. Ava hesitated for a second before dropping everything and cradling Sara in her arms.

She pulled back, just a little. "Promise me you won't go." Sara whispered. "Please, Ava. Promise me." Ava nodded, but Sara couldn't stop, whispering it over and over again. They spent the night like that, wrapped up in each-other’s arms, Sara never ceasing her mantra, even when it became slurred and slow as sleep took over. The last thing she remembered was a kiss being pressed to her forehand and hands gently pulling open her fists, which were closed around Ava’s pyjama shirt.

///

The bed was cold. Sara kept her eyes shut, willing herself to sleep a little longer, because the world wasn't something she wanted to face today. Eventually, Bow's barking got her to at least sit up, and she noticed that Ava's wet-suit wasn't hanging from the hook on the door. 

She went downstairs. The house was empty. 

There was no trident leaning casually against the door, no cup of coffee waiting for her. On the fridge was a new piece of paper, and she pulled it off.

Sara knew it was futile, but she ran anyway. Ran down to the rocks, across to the little jetty, cutting her bare feet on the splinters. The sea was just as it always was, gentle lapping against the shore. The summer sunshine was starting to peak over the horizon, sending warm golden rays over Sara's face, but she didn't think she'd ever felt so cold.

On the paper was Atlantean, not Sara's messy attempts, but beautiful swirls and flicks, like cursive. Sara knew what it said. It was what Ava had written, over and over again, traced it on the skin of her back to help her get over a nightmare or during a storm, what she'd meant with her sleepy good morning kisses and the hugs that almost lifted Sara from the ground.

Sara rarely cried, but she cried then, on her knees at the end of the dock, tears running down her cheeks and into the silent water below.

///

"You're not an easy woman to find, Miss Lance." 

"I try." Sara muttered, putting the mug down. The man called himself Rip Hunter - Sara would've been very surprised if that's what his mother had named him. He was sat at her kitchen table, politely drinking the coffee she'd offered. 

"I've got a job - if you're interested."

"I don't know who told you about me - but I'm done with that, forever. Get the League to ask someone else." She said, scowling. 

"Not that kind of job, Miss Lance." The man said, leaning forward slightly, hands clasped on the table. "What do you know about time travel?"

Two days later, she'd sold the lighthouse, given Bow to a young family in the bay and Storm to a fishing-boat that seemed pleased with their new mouser. She didn't have much in the way of personal possessions, only one duffel-bag full. The note from Ava was pressed carefully between the pages of a book on Atlantis she couldn’t bring herself to return to the library.

Sara stood out on the rocks, eyes always searching, but she could only see the foaming waves, stretching on and on to the horizon. "I'll come back." She whispered. "Promise." The sea was silent, and Sara couldn't help but smile a little. It didn't scare her so much anymore. How could she hate the water, when the water brought her Ava?

She turned, and made the journey up the rocks, along the winding path and up, over the bay. She didn't turn around.

///

"That's it?" Sara was a little surprised at Nate's reaction. He seemed annoyed.

"What?”

"That was the most romantic story I've ever heard - two people from different worlds, who don't speak the same language, falling in love despite everything being against you! And you just - left!"

Sara just shrugged. "She left."

"To protect you!" Zari suddenly appeared in the doorway, hands on hips.

"How long have you been there?" Sara said, eyes widening as the rest of the team appeared and shuffled into the library.

"I wasn't eavesdropping - I just wanted to do my laundry, but it was such a good story -" Ray said, a little sheepishly.

"I was eavesdropping." Mick said bluntly.

"It doesn't matter what we were doing." Charlie cut him off. "He’s right, you can't end it like this." They all nodded, even Mick.

"I am not taking advice from any of you about my love life." Sara said, standing suddenly. She pointed a finger at her team. "You all have better things to do, so just drop this."

"We will absolutely not." Nate said confidently, but he cowered a little when Sara's glare was focused on him.

"Doesn't Ava deserved to be rescued? What if she's been forced to marry a man she doesn't love? Shouldn't we help her?" Ray said, and Sara cursed his big heart.

"In case you haven't noticed, none of us can visit Atlantis, because none of us can breathe underwater. We also don't know where it is, or how to get there, or if she'd even want to   
leave." Sara said calmly. "We're not going."

That night, Sara was sat in her office, trying to drown her re-awakened sorrows in her second-best whiskey. She'd already had half a bottle and it was making her maudlin.

"Gideon?" She asked, looking up into the semi-darkness.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Is she okay?"

"Who?”

Sara sighed. "Ava."

There was silence. "I can't know that, Captain. I have no way to find out."

She let out a little laugh, a sad sound, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I know. Of course I know. Thanks for looking." She jumped a little when she saw a shape in the doorway.

"Alright, pet?"

Sara scowled. "Fuck off, John.”

"No - Sara -" He sighed and stepped inside the threshold. "Look, I may be a jaded old bastard, but I've done a lot of stupid shit for love, and I think it's my turn to help you do some too."

"What do you mean?" Sara sighed, slightly on edge. 

"There may be some magic - look, I can't make any promises. But I think I can help."

///

John had left her a small pile of bones.

Apparently, they were enchanted to lead her to her love, which Sara would've said was crazy, but she'd seen enough crazy shit in her last four years on the ship to believe anything.

She left it for a week, but whenever she reached for her scotch (which was more and more frequently in that week), she saw them there, vibrating slightly. By the end, she couldn't bear it anymore - she told Gideon not to let anyone move the ship until she got back, she took a shot of the burning alcohol and opened a portal, using a time courier she'd stolen from Rip. Sara threw the bones through and the image shifted, shifting like streams of light.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.

Everything hit her all at once - the roaring sea, the vicious wind, the ink black sky - the surface she was on tipped violently, and Sara realised, too late, that she was on a boat. It tipped again, and her boots couldn't find purchase on the slippery deck - she fell, slipped backwards and flipped right over, landing back first into the icy waters below.  
Sara knew she should swim, move, do anything, but the icy tendrils had wrapped around her chest and she couldn't tell which way was up anymore. Everything was cold and dark and her lungs felt as if they were burning - and she was alone, John's stupid magic hadn't done anything, unless she was sinking towards Atlantis. Maybe she'd find Ava when she was dead, and that thought was strangely comforting as black spots appeared in her vision. Maybe she wouldn't be alone this time.

But then it was different, dark and cold and painful in a new way, like the water was inside her and not all around. Sara threw up, water mixing with vomit as a strong hand came up to smack her back. An arm held her upright, which she was grateful for as she sucked in a breath and coughed violently. The hand was rubbing her back now, pulling her closer and putting some warmth back into her frozen skin. She could breathe more clearly now, and her ears had stopped ringing. All she could hear was the sound of the sea and the funny noises her saviour was making, little squeaky sounds like crying, but not quite -

Sara used her gathered strength to move backwards, and there, lit by the bright moon, was Ava. She was just as beautiful she remembered, sopping wet and smiling down at her hesitantly.

"Aves." She breathed, like a prayer, and Ava smiled, a hand coming up to brush the salty water away from her cheeks. "You saved me." 

Ava just nodded, moving to hold Sara more tightly put the warmth back in her bones. 

It had been four years, give or take a few lifetimes, but in all that time, Sara hadn't thought about what she would say if she ever saw Ava again, so she stayed quiet. She tipped her head back slightly, so she could look up at Ava's soft expression and the night sky, clear and bright, and filled with more stars than she'd ever thought possible.

///

They portalled back to the ship when Sara had stopped shivering and had briefly explained what the hell was going on. Ava gasped when she saw the bridge, and the team turned towards them both.

"Uh - team, this is Ava." Sara said, a little self-consciously, mainly because she was dripping wet and Ava's arm around her waist was the only reason she was standing upright.  
They all looked at her. Ray gave them both a small wave.

“I can explain – but first I need the med-bay.” She said, groaning slightly, and Zari just pointed down the corridor, so Ava could pull her towards it.

After Gideon had sorted her out, given her a shot of the good stuff and they were settled around the dining table, Sara introduced Ava to the assembled team members. She was clearly hesitant- each of the team was looking at her with wide eyes, and Ray was eyeing her up like a science project - but she relaxed a little when Sara launched into the story of how this all came to be, helped by each of the Legends. Ava stayed close, even when she went to the food fabricator to make them dinner. 

Everything felt awkward and stilted, and they kept bumping into each-other. It wasn’t like Sara had imagined some rom-com style reunion, but she hadn’t imagined anything like this, so when it got late she led Ava to a spare bunk rather than taking her to her own. Ava didn’t object, just squeezed her hand in a silent good-night.

///

"We've got it!" Ray said loudly, bounding into the room, Zari on his heels. Sara just raised her eyebrows. "Why Ava - you - why you can't talk. We think we've solved it."

They were sat in the med-bay – Ava in the chair, Sara on a little stool next to her, because she’d been trying to solve that same problem.

Zari stepped in, Ray clearly too excited to speak properly, and she turned to face the woman in the chair. "Ava, your voice can be heard under water, but not above ground, right? Because your vocal chords were designed to vibrate with the frequency of water, not air." 

Ava nodded, and Sara nodded too. She was pretty sure she understood.

"Then we thought -" 

Ray interrupted, clearly too excited to stay quiet. "We thought we could alter the translator pills, and I think it'll work. I finished the last few connections myself." He said proudly, holding put the tiny pill. Ava moved to take it, but Sara stopped her.

"And you're sure this is safe?"

"100%!" Ray said brightly, but his expression fell a little when Zari raised an eyebrow. "Okay, a solid 95. 90. 87-6. I'm 86% sure this is fine and it will work as intended."  
Under Sara's stare, he wilted. "84% sure this will work. Either that, or she'll never be able to eat citrus fruits again."

Ava shrugged, and Sara nodded. "We'll take that chance."

It was strangely tense as Ava took the pill, looked it over, then swallowed it. They all waited with baited breath as she opened her mouth a few times.

Zari started. "I told you we should've included that matrix -" 

"Hello." She was interrupted by a soft voice, and Sara felt her heart drop. Ava's eyes were wide and she touched her lips, then grinned. "Hello. Hello!"

"It worked." Ray said, beaming, and Ava beamed right back.

"Thank you - thank you!"

Sara couldn't speak, ironically. Ava's voice wasn't anything like she'd imagined, but it was soft and warm and sure. She was beaming, and everything Sara hadn't let herself feel for four years was suddenly at the forefront of her mind. She didn't even notice when Zari turned and pulled Ray from the room.

"Sara." Ava said quietly. "Sara, thank you."

She could only nod. "Thanks for saving my life, princess."

Ava ducked her head a little. "Not - not anymore."

"What?"

"I abdicated." She said with a small smile. "I left, again. They let me go this time."

"Oh that's -" Sara wanted to be pleased, but there was something there - "You didn't come back."

"I did. You'd gone. I was too late."

Sara laughed. It wasn't a real laugh, more of a relived sound, but Ava smiled too, and some of the tension in her shoulders disappeared.  
“But you did come back.” Ava said, almost reverently, and Sara realised then how much she’d missed those eyes. “How did you find me?”

“Would you believe me if I said magic?”

"I love you." Her voice was quiet and unsure, and Sara's breath caught in her throat. 

"Aves -"

"You don't need to say it back." Ava said quickly, looking up, and their eyes finally met. "I wanted you to know."

"I always knew." It was quiet then, quieter than she'd ever known the Waverider. Even the normal clicks and whirs had faded into the background as she took one step closer to the figure on the chair. Ava wasn’t listening, clearly spiralling a little, clasping her hands together in front of her.

“I mean, it’s been so long- if there was anyone else -”

“There’s no-one else, Aves. No one but you.” Sara took the final step and brought her hand up to thread her fingers into Ava’s salt mussed hair. She brought their lips together. When she pulled back, Ava’s eyes were shining with tears and her mouth was cocked in a hesitant little half smile, forming a sight so beautiful Sara wondered how she’d ever lived without it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thats the end folks! this is probably my favourite thing i’ve ever written i can’t believe its over :(( probably won’t write any more though as i can’t see where they could go,, (though suggestions are always welcome!) 
> 
> anyway thanks so much for reading!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> this is in no way an accurate depiction of how to man a lighthouse. any readers who are particularly knowledgeable about lighthouses should feel free to write in to correct my mistakes
> 
> kudos and comments always appreciated!! or find me on tumblr at theangelwaverly :)


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